A little reading to go with your breakfast.

http://www.rockshowmagazine.com/articles/dfh.html

Dead Fish Handshake’s infectious intensity influences and inspires the listener while taking them on an emotional ride always cushioning each sharp turn with protective guitar progression and soothing each burn with cool lyrical intoxication. Wrapped in respect for the alternative 90s era, Dead Fish Handshake offers a sound so fresh and original it begs to be acknowledged independently while forcing you to admire the evolution of sound. The lead singers deep and sultry baritone vocal seduces the tempting guitar and the product is the perfect arrangement of dreamy story telling that erupts into an explosive textured sound, filthy and fervent, while completely scathing rock. This Molotov cocktail of blues, rock, and grunge, produces a sound quietly rigid and rough with a proud flaming ferocity of yesteryear. The fellas are hitting the road this summer to take their sound to the masses. Breaking free of the East Coast Metropolitan area will allow the boys a unique opportunity to excel and promote an already successful reputation and a well-received sophomore album.

With a sound all its own and a tangible feel of compassion and vulnerability, DFH’s debut attempt Across State Lines offered the band to its immediate fans as a safe place to rest while wrestling with emotions too intense to assume others shared. Singer Matthew Paul extends his lyrical hand and grabs firmly onto the feelings all so universally accepted yet whispered in a crowd. Music, the excellent explosion and blending of hard rock and roll and soft sentimental lyrics, is sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered. Screw pills. Screw therapy. Pop in your favorite cd and vibe from beginning to end. Dead Fish Handshake cures what’s ailing you every single time. Packed with powerful yet haunting melodic lyrics, penetrating guitar riffs, and pulsating drum beats, its hard outer shell slowly peels open with each original song and exposed is the true talent of experienced musicians bleeding real and raw rock to their core. The result is The Sixes; a rock rooted soundscape with the perfect rise and fall of the simple and the abstract, the need and the want, and the lost and the found. This second attempt solidified the DFH sound but still gave them room to experience and grow. It allowed fans of all creeds to find and follow them.

Add Clint Lowery (Sevendust/Hello Demons Meet Skeletons) as producer and Architekt Music Recording Studio (1 Boonton Ave, Butler, NJ) as the backdrop to this already ambitious band and The Sixes is a product that symbolizes passion, power, and a prevalence to not only succeed but also to surpass. Hits like “Turning a Blind Eye” and “The Blackest Skies” taunt the listener with a pace like an excited heart beat and lyrics that sooth and calm the highest of emotions at the same time. Dead Fish Handshake effectively exhibits power and conviction behind each mesmerizing song and offers a musical journey dotted with gut wrenching ballads, full of passion yet insulated with masculinity, and melodic crispness attacked by genuine authentic rock riffs. Alluring darkness and enticing reality in lyrics drenched in truth and kerosene ignite into fiery flames with the smash of the drums and burn hotter and brighter with each inescapable and poignant chorus. With words so tangible you swear you can grab onto them and suffocate the pain while trying to hold onto the slippery words of comfort and compassion, “Leave the Light On” and “E-Motionless” become the soul of the album. Matthew Paul, in a statement on their website (www.deadfishhandshake.com) said, “And as silly as it sounds my heart smiles when you all tell me how much you connect with what we do. Those songs are about pure misery and defeat and you all bring such a different positive outlook to it and I try to pay you all back by getting on a stage and being a voice for things maybe everyone else wanted to say but could never find the right words.”

The “Leave the Light on Tour” will kick off in Florida, circle up as far west as North Dakota and close with shows back home in New Jersey and Rhode Island, respectively. Dates are slowly popping up on their website and social media sites. If ever there was a band excited to meet new fans and firmly shake some hands (no pun intended) it would be these guys. They are by far some of the warmest and kindest rock and rollers I’ve ever met and know that their special brand of fan centered band will go over very well throughout the rest of the country. They are one of the best kept East Coast secrets and will soon become a national treasure. –

Unfortunately, it takes more than hopes and dreams to gas up a van and fill up a rockers stomach. Such as life, right? The boys said, “As most of you know, and have seen up close and in person, being in a band is not as glamorous as it looks. The reality is, we are about to cram in a van, have a steady diet of non-perishable food items, sleep in Walmart parking lots, and pray that it rains so that we can shower! All so we can bring you our special brand of good ol’ rock n roll! Combine all of that with some overwhelming overhead expenses and you have a recipe for living the dream!” Dead Fish Handshake has created a Kickstarter account as an interactive way to be a part of this project and to aid in their attempt to tour the country. Be a part of this journey and contribute whatever you can. These guys have it, and they are attracting attention from the industry. Be a part of it too. You don’t have to go broke. Just donate what you can and support creativity, local music, and all around a great group of guys. Best part is that each donation comes with some very cool incentives ranging from never-before-released music to private shows, to signed gear!

But hurry up before it’s too late. This project must be funded by July 1st. Take this opportunity to be a part of something. Something great! The sound is unique, the guys are real, and the “Leave the Light On Tour” will be a guaranteed home run. Step up to the bat. You’ll never miss with this band. Visit their Kickstarter page here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadfishhandshake.

~Stina Marie Harris
stina@rockshowmagazine.com